The world upside down

Rough and crackly. This tune lives and breathes ‘troubles with your tv-set’. After the first hook, which enters with force, a very nice, energetic build-up & some very mellow, swoopy chords mix things up to create a dynamic, unique flow that somehow works.

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For me personally, This is Signs at their best. Unique, mechanically organic sound design gets squandered by a very powerfully processed snare. It takes a more traditional approach to build-ups and releases, but that’s not a bad thing at all. Every time the main sound gets back it’s slightly warped and reintroduced in a way that keeps it interesting and fresh.

Wood Anthem

Shield joins up with Signs and together they deliver my favourite track on the album. This one seems to be the most paced. The bass on this one is the most lively thus far, and the flamboyantly rattling samples of different kinds of timber make it a proper anthem for any kind of wood you may have after hearing this one.

The Message

Poly-rhythmic paradise. Massive shout-outs to the swooping synths on every 6th. The 'detuned' organ makes this track have a very pleasurably confusing soul. Great production quality on every reece and drums involved; this track deserves to be the name holder of the album.

Phantom

A slow burner for sure. This track sets the mood & keeps you there. The stock-gun cock sample prepares you for a heavy, subtly distorted (subtle enough at least) bass, which dissipates in a melancholic melody, before slowly but surely pulling you back in. When that happens the melody gets taken over by soothing synths that form a nice overall conclusion to the track.

The Message (Subp Yao & Dayle Remix)

I really, really adore the noise layer that Subp Yao and Dayle put on top of the sub. Besides that, the handy-work they achieved with the snare also sets things a bit apart. Some short, funky bass breaks and a comedic ending wrap up Signs’ release quite nicely.

Overall, an amazing release. Each track exposes some amazing sound design and will no doubt fit nicely within the Saturate Records archive.